Another step toward an Asian Economic Union

The Far Eastern Economic Review reports that the finance ministers of the Asean +3 group have agreed on the governance structure for the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI). Growing out of the Asian financial crisis of the 90s, CMI is a financial stablization fund for Asia. FEER's report indicates that this is a major step towards an Asian Monetary Fund.

It is particularly noteworthy that the region’s two dominant powers, China and Japan, which have a notoriously difficult relationship, have come together under the umbrella of the Asean Plus Three and that they have agreed on a cooperative framework that goes far beyond previous initiatives like the Economic Review and Policy Dialogue that the Asean Plus Three established in April 1999. With 32% each, China and Japan both contribute identical shares to the reserve pool.

The full article is here.

Technorati Tags: economy